Designing in Life

Gluten Free, Vegetarian or "Other"

If you've ever wondered what to feed your friends with food requirements, this recipe is the solution.  It can be made as a vegetarian dish (you can always grill some chicken for your other guests to go along with it), gluten free or add meat to it if you wish. 

Any way you dish it up, I hope you find it as delicious as we do in our house.

Basically, this is a modified sheppard's pie.  I didn't do any special shopping for it.  I looked in my fridge, freezer and veggie basket, and used what I found – some brussels sprouts,  a carrot,  some celery, a rutabaga, a beet, peas, corn, a leek, an onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and some pre-cooked lentils.  The spice I used was curry.

Any Way You Like it Casserole

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes (or potato of your choice) baked until soft.
2 cups of cooked lentils or a bean of your choice (cook according to directions or used canned)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ large onion diced
1 leek – white part chopped
1 beet
½ rutabaga
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
7 brussels sprouts halved
½ cup of frozen peas
¼ cup frozen corn

Vegetarian Cheeze Sauce (or use your own recipe for a white sauce, or cheese sauce)                 
Recipe follows.

2 teaspoons curry powder (more to taste if you like curry!)

Directions

Scrape potatoes into a bowl and add 1/4 cup of milk (or milk substitute) and a tablespoon of butter or butter substitute (like Earth Balance).  Whip with mixer, then set aside.

In a large pot, sautee garlic, leek, and  onion for 2 minutes to impart flavor.  Add any vegetables that take the longest to cook. (beet, carrot and 1 rutabaga) Sautee for 5 minutes on medium heat.  Add the other vegetables  and cook for about 8 minutes more.  Add the beans.  Set aside.

Make the Cheezy Sauce (or use your own sauce with the curry added)

1 c nutritional yeast
3 T flour (wheat, rice or spelt)
2 1/2 T corn starch or arrowroot powder
½ t salt
2 c water
2 T olive oil
2 T Dijon mustard

Combine yeast, flour, corn starch, and salt. Whisking constantly over medium heat, add water and oil. When the sauce thickens, add mustard. Continue heating for 30 seconds and then stir in curry. Add to the vegetables.

In a oiled casserole dish, add the vegetables with the sauce.  Spread the whipped potatoes over the top of the vegetables.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is one of those dishes that does not have to be exactly the same every time you serve it.  I've also made it with a tomato sauce instead of the white sauce.  Yup, any way you like it!

 

 

 

Designing with Spring in Mind

I'm starting to lean towards that light spring-green, and warm weather sky-blue in my designs.  Must mean there is change in the air.  I guess the daylight hours that are gradually sneaking up on us, and the thermometer that is reading in the 30s instead of the 20s, is an indication that maybe we are really heading out of winter.

Today's design ended up quite simple, but in those spring colors I'm dreaming about! 

Now would it really be too much to ask for some sunshine and a few 40 degree days?  No harm in trying!

Tortilla Cakes

All I can say is this. I've been dreaming about these ever since my son-in-law, Jim, made them when I was visitng a few weeks ago.  There is something about caramelized onions and garlic that is so darn good.  Sort of a savory-subtle sweetness.

Beth made some mole, which I've never made myself.  I did find a recipe if you'd like to be adventurous, but forewarned, it is a bit daunting and takes time.  (Since it takes so long to make it, freeze it in the smallest batches you'll use at one time.)  It was an excellent addition to these cakes.

Garlic Onion Tortilla Cakes (recipe by Guy Fieri)

Ingredients
For the Roasted Garlic:

4 whole heads garlic
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the Tortilla Cake:

1 cup canola oil
4 cups finely chopped red onions (about 5 medium)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (you can use Earth Balance in place of butter)
2 tablespoons sugar (you can substitute with agave or another sweetener)
5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
12 large flour tortillas ( spelt or rice tortillas can be used also, and you can use fewer if you'd like)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Prepare the roasted garlic: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top 1/2 inch off the garlic heads and discard. Place the heads on a large piece of foil and drizzle with the olive oil. Wrap up foil tightly; place the package in a small baking dish. Roast until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the tortilla cake: Combine the canola oil and onions in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring (don't over brown). Add the butter and sugar; cook, stirring to caramelize. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Once cooled, mix the onions with the parmesan, mayonnaise and cilantro in a bowl. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins and stir into the onion mixture. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Set aside 1/3 of the onion mixture in the refrigerator for the dipping sauce. Spread 2 tablespoons of the remaining mixture on top of a tortilla and cover with another tortilla. Repeat, spreading and stacking the tortillas; finish with a tortilla with no mixture on top. Wrap the tortilla stack in plastic wrap and let set up for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

After the stack has set up, cut into 16 wedges. Preheat a grill or grill pan (as you can see, Jim used a cast iron pan); warm wedges over medium heat until both sides are marked. Combine the reserved onion mixture with the balsamic vinegar to make the dipping sauce.

For Heaven's Sake!

It's not too late to add this list to your "Things I've Gotta Do" list for this year.  I've been trying to get a peek at little Mercury, but the weather has not been cooperating.  Luckily, I have a few more days for a sighting.  Let me know if you see it!

Design Work

Each day I spend a little time on designs – why?  Because the truth is, I really like being able to create something that can be on paper.  I'm not good at drawing, and I've never really painted, so I guess that this type of art is what I'm best at.  Here is a very simple design, that I think is perfect for a small child!!

Vermont In Full Bloom

After a week-long trip to New Jersey visiting my daughter, son-in-law, granddaughters and sister and brother-in-law, I came home to prepare for my two days of working. 

Valentine's Day at a florist is about the craziest day in a whole year.  I worked on the 13th-14th at the florist I worked for thirteen years-ago.  In Full Bloom, in Shelburne, Vermont, offers the most amazing, diverse flowers around.  From traditional, to funky, to exotic, they have it all.  I was prepared for it being hectic, and loved every minute of it.  What's not to like, when everyone you talk to leaves happy?

Kris (the owner) and I agreed that arranging flowers is like riding a bike.  Once you've learned, you just don't forget.  I got to arrange many bouquets, and in return received many smiles.

One nice perk of working in the floral business, is that you get to go home with flowers.  Here are some I came home with.

Sorry, I can't remember the name of these roses.  They last a long time, and change from pink to yellow as they open...Gorgeous!

These are a type of double tulip.  The edges are ruffled, and there are multiple petals.  There is also another smaller tulip that emerges from the foliage as the first one fades away.

Working for those two days made me realize that I really do like to work, and I like to be busy.  So now, I wonder what will be next?  I'm leaving myself wide open!

Off and Running

Yesterday I took a drive south, and ended up here:

I'm here for the weekend babysitting my granddaughter's, Chloe and Phoebe.

Today, Chloe and her dad went skiing, and Beth had an appointment in the City, so it was Phoebe and me for the day. 

We went to the park, read books, watched the Lorax and Phoebe had a great time with Sadie.

However, I'm not quite sure how much fun Sadie had!

I'm here for a few days, then off to South Jersey to visit my sister and family.